Tent with drop cloth threshold construction

ABSTRACT

The doorway of a tent is provided with openable door panels having a lower horizontal edge terminating above ground level. Beneath the door panels is a threshold assembly including a drop cloth which may be selectively secured in a raised position or released to a lowered position in which the drop cloth lies flat on the ground to facilitate sweeping out debris within the tent. In the raised position, the drop cloth is secured by a slide fastener to the lower edges of the door panels to form part of the closure of the doorway. Two embodiments are disclosed; one has a waterproof base.

United States Patent Inventor Appl. No' Filed Patented Assignee TENT WITH DROP CLOTH THRESHOLD CONSTRUCTION US. Cl.

Int. CL.

FieldolSearch Primary Examiner-Peter M. Caun Attorney-Dawson, Tilton, Fallon and Lungrnus ABSTRACT: The doorway of a tent is provided with openable door panels having a lower horizontal edge terminating above ground level. Beneath the door panels is a threshold assembly including a drop cloth which may be selectively secured in a raised position or released to a lowered position in which the drop cloth lies flat on the ground to facilitate sweeping out debris within the tent. in the raised position, the drop cloth is secured by a slide fastener to the lower edges of the door panels to form part of the closure of the doorway. Two embodiments are disclosed; one has a waterproof base.

TENT WITH DROP CLOTH THRESHOLD CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY The present invention relates to a threshold assembly for tents of the kind which are currently used for camping and similar activities.

The inventive'principle applies to tents which are provided with waterproof bases as well as those which are not. In either case, I have found it highly desirable to provide a threshold assembly which may be selectively raised or lowered. Normally, the threshold assembly is in its raised position to keep out leaves and other debris. However, if the threshold is not capable of being lowered, it acts as a hindrance in sweeping the interior of the tent or in transporting cumbersome articles into and out of the tent.

Waterproof bases have been suggested for use with tents, such as camping tents, for sealing the interior of the tent against ground moisture. Further, it has been suggested to extend the waterproof base upwardly for a short distance along the sides of the tent so that the tent may sit in a slight amount of water while the interior remains dry. These constructions generally include a pan"-type of base which has four upstanding sides of the waterproof base formed integrally with the bottom so that the upstanding side portions of the base always remain in the same position once the tent is erected, thus making it difficult to sweep debris out of the interior of the tent and to transport articles into and out of the tent.

The present invention provides a threshold assembly or construction for a tent base including a drop cloth which is an integral part of the tent and is adapted for selective positioning either in an upright position (in which it forms part of the closure of the doorway), or a lowered position (in which the drop cloth lies on the ground) to facilitate transporting articles into and out of the tent through the doorway as well as providing a flat threshold over which debris within the tent may be swept.

In its raised position, the drop cloth is held in tension by means of corner snap fasteners as an integral part of the upstanding side of the tent base; and, thus, it become part of the side barrier of the tent base while permitting the tent door to be opened. A horizontal slide fastener secures the drop cloth to the bottom edge of the tent door. When the snap fasteners are unlocked and the horizontal slide fastener opened, the drop cloth falls flat on the ground and forms an extension of the bottom of the tent.

Persons skilled in the art will realize other features and advantages of the present invention from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment accompanied by the attached drawing in which identical reference numerals refer to like parts in the various views.

THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tent construction including a waterproof base incorporating features of the present inventron;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are closeup views of the threshold assembly of the tent of FIG. 1 showing the drop cloth respectively in a lowered and raised position;

F IGS. 4-5 are closeup views of an alternate embodiment of a threshold assembly for a tent showing the drop cloth respectively in a lowered and a raised position; and

FIGS. 6-7 are cross section views of the threshold assembly of FIG. 5 taken respectively through the sight lines 6-6 and 7-7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to FIG. I, there is seen a tent generally designated by reference numeral 10 including a top 11, front 12, first and second sides designated 13 and 14 and a back 15. The front of the tent I0 is provided with an opening or doorway 16 which is closeable by means of first and second netting members 17 and 18. The joint between the netting members 17 and 18 may be secured along a vertical line by means of a slide fastener (preferably a nylon zipper) 19. The doorway 16 is also coverable by means of a wind-resistant closure members 20 and 21 which are of the same fabric as the remainder of the tent. The closure members 20 and 21 are shown in the illustration fastened at their vertical midsections to the sides of the doorway 16.

A waterproof tent base is generally designated 25. The base 25 forms a pan; and it includes a bottom or floor 26 provided with generally vertical sides 27 and 28 secured along their upper edges respectively to the sides 13 and 14 of the tent wall fabric by stitching. The base also includes a rear portion 29 similarly secured to the back 15 of the tent fabric, and left and right front portions 30a and 30b secured along their respective upper edges to the front of the tent.

In the embodiment of FIGS. I3, the tent base is preferably made of a flexible, waterproof synthetic plastic material so that it may be heat sealed along the abovedescribed stitch lines. The base 25 is secured to the ground by means of appended tabs 32 staked into the ground by wellknown methods. Although the tabs 32 are illustrated as being only at the corners of the tent, it will be appreciated that they may be located as closer increments about the lower perimeter of the tent base to induce tension in the wall fabric.

The separation between the front wall portions 300 and 30b of the tent base (as seen in greater detail in FIG. 2) provides an aperture or receptacle 33 for receiving a threshold assembly, generally designated 35, which is secured by stitching and heat sealing to the front wall portions along the side seam lines 36 and 37 as well as the lower seam line 38 (which may alternatively be located in the floor of the tent base with similar results).

In this construction, the part of the threshold assembly which acts as a water barrier is itself made entirely of a continuous piece of waterproof fabric forming the rest of the base; and it includes a drop cloth 40 having its side portions folded inwardly behind it to form triangular-shaped folds or gussets 41 and 42. The material of the threshold is again folded behind itself (this time outwardly) at a 45angle relative to the horizontal (see dashed crease lines 41a and 42a in FIG. 3) so that the material extends outwardly of the center of the tent to form panel extensions 43 and 44 of the sides 30a and 30b of the base. The panels 43 and 44 are formed as a continuous extension respectively of gussets 41 and 42. The outer vertical edge of the extension member 43 is stitched and heat-sealed to the vertical edge 36 of the front wall portion 30a of the tent base. The extension member 44 is similarly sealed with the corresponding edge 37 of the front wall 30b.

First and second elongated strips of the base material (identified by reference numerals 45 and 46) are secured at 45a and 46a to the upper corner of the inner edges of the extension panel 43 and 44; and they extend inwardly thereof in a generally horizontal direction when the drop cloth 40 is in its raised position. The lower edges of the netting members 15 and 14 respectively are sewn along the upper edges of the side extension panels 43 and 44 as well as their associated appendages 45 and 46 so then when the vertical zipper 19 is fully closed, the inboard ends of the appendages 45 and 46 lie adjacent each other as illustrated in FIG. 1. These appendages serve to attach or contact horizontal slide fasteners to the netting panels 14 and 15.

Referring now to FIG. 3, first and second horizontal slide fasteners (again, preferably nylon zippers) 52 and 53 are adapted to fasten the lower edges of the front netting to the upper edge of the drop cloth 40. Toward this end, the slide fastener 52 is provided with a first lower track 54 which is sewn to the upper edge of the left side of the drop cloth 40, extending to the midpoint of the upper edge identified by reference numeral 55. A second, mating track 56 is similarly fastened to the upper portion of the drop cloth 40 along a line which extends outwardly of the gusset 41. The material to which the track 56 is sewn may be provided by folding the upper edge of the gusset 41 forwardly along a horizontal line to form the segment 57 in FIG. 3. The upper track 56 of zipper 52 is also integrally attached to the lower edge of appendage 45. Referring again to FIG. 2, a flexible appendage 58 is attached to the front wall of the tent and is provided with a male portion 58a of a snap lock. A female portion of the snap lock 59 is formed in the upper left-hand corner of the drop cloth (extending through gusset 41) when positioned in its upright position shown in FIG. 3.

At the right-hand portion of the threshold assembly, the slide fastener 53 similarly includes a first track 60 which extends along the upper edge of the drop cloth 40 from the midpoint 55 to a point adjacent the upper right-hand corner. A second, mating track 62 of the slide fastener 53 extends from the upper right-hand corner of the drop cloth 40 onto the lower edge of appendage 46. Again, a portion of the material to which the track 62 is attached may be provided by an extension 63 of the gusset 42 folded forwardly. The upper righthand portion of the drop cloth 40 is provided with a female member 64 for attachment to a corresponding male member 65 secured to a tab appendage 66 fastened to the front wall 30b of the tent base.

When erected the tent walls are under tension. When properly tensioned, the lower horizontal side zippers 52 and 53 may be opened to draw netting members 14 and 15 to the sides and the drop cloth 40 will remain up, as seen in FIG. 3. Thus, the vertical zipper 19 may be unfastened to gain access to the interior of the tent while providing a continuous water barrier about the tent base. The effectiveness of this water barrier is enhanced by the fact that the drop cloth 40, gussets 41 and 42 as well as the vertical wall portions 43 and 44 are formed of the same piece of material. With the lower horizontal zippers 52 and 53 unfastened, the side snap locks may be detached and the drop cloth 40 may then be lowered by rotation about a horizontal hinge line formed at the lower edge of the drop cloth to the position shown in FIG. 2. In this position, the drop cloth reclines on the ground and lies in the same horizontal plane as the bottom 26 of the tent base for sweeping out debris from the interior of the tent or for carrying articles in and out of the tent without fear of tripping over the raised threshold.

In this aspect it will be noted that by running the upper tracks 56 and 62 of the zippers 52 and 53 into the side portions of the drop cloth immediately in front of the gussets 41 and 42, when the drop cloth is lowered, there is a hinging action at the inboard upper edges of the gussets to permit them to swing outwardly in lowering the drop cloth 40 while maintaining a completely sealed pocket at each gusset when the drop cloth is raised.

Turning now to FIGS. 5-7, there is shown an embodiment of the inventive threshold assembly adapted to be used with a tent which does not have a waterproof pan base. Referring to FIG. 4 in particular, the front sides of the tent are designated 75 and 76, and the side halves of the net doors 77 and 78. Again, a slide fastener 79 is provided for securing the net doors 77 and 78 together. The canvas drape covers are designated respectively 8111 and 81; but it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the inventive principle is not at all limited to use with the net doors and cover drapes shown in the two embodiments.

Reference numeral 82 designates the bottom of the tent which, in this embodiment, may be a water repellent material. The tent bottom 82 is secured by stitching to the sidewalls of the tent about the lower ground-level periphery.

The threshold assembly is generally designated by reference numeral 83; and it includes a drop cloth 84 secured at its side edges to gusset members 86 and 87. A first side front extension panel 88 extending in the plane of the front wall of the tent is formed integrally with the gusset 86; and a second side extension panel 89 is formed integrally with the gusset 87. As with the previous embodiment, an appendage 90 extends inwardly of the extension panel 88 and, with the upper edge of the extension panel 88 is secured to the lower edge of the net door 77 along the sew line 91. A similar appendage 92 is secured to the other front extension panel 89; and the upper edges of each of these latter two members are sewn to the lower edge of the net door 78.

The gusset 87 and front panel extension 89 form a pocket as illustrated, which pocket is generally designated 93. The pocket 93, as illustrated in FIG. 4, is in an open position when the drop cloth 84 is lowered to recline on the ground, and the pocket 93 closes, as seen in FIG. 5, when the drop cloth 84 is in a raised position. This pocket is illustrated in cross section view in FIG. 7 wherein it is-also illustrated that the gusset 87 and the front extension panel 89 are formed from the same continuous piece of cloth. Further, as seen in FIG. 7, a first horizontal slide fastener generally designated 95 has an upper track 96 secured to the top of the gusset 87 by folding the upper edge of the gusset 87 forwardly as at 87a and over the cloth 97 attached to the upper track 96 of the fastener 95. The cloth 97 is then sewn to the upper edge of the gusset 87 as at 98.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the gusset 87 terminates at itsjuncture with the front extension panel 89 (the point being designated 99), and thereafter the upper track 96 of the fastener 95 is secured to the lower edge of the appendage 92.

A corresponding horizontal slide fastener for the left side of the threshold assembly is generally designated by reference numeral 100 in FIG. 5; and it includes an upper track 101 and a lower track 102. The upper track 101 is secured along the lower edge of the left side appendage 90 and into a forwardly turned upper edge 86a of the gusset 86.

A tab 105 is secured to the tent beneath the lower edge of the net door 78 and adjacent the upper right-hand comer of the drop cloth 84 in its raised position. Secured within the tab 105 is a male portion of a snap fastener 106. A corresponding female portion is designated 107 and secured within the upper right-hand comer of the drop cloth 84 as best seen in FIG. 6. The female portion 107 of the snap fastener is secured through both the drop cloth 84 and the gusset 87 as shown. A corresponding tab and snap fastener is provided for on the left side of the threshold assembly, the female member being designated by reference numeral 110.

The cross section view of FIG. 6 is taken at the location of the extreme right-hand edge of the threshold assembly; and it shows the overlapping of the right side 76 of the front wall and the front extension panel 89, as well as the seam between the floor 82 of the tent and the threshold construction. That is to say, an upwardly turned extension 82a of the floor cloth is place between the outer edge of the corner of the drop cloth and the location of attachment of the extension panel 89 to the side front wall of the tent 76. inwardly of this location, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a front edge of the floor 82 as at 82b is overlapped by a rearwardly folded portion 840 of the drop panel 84 and sewn thereagainst.

Having thus described in detail preferred embodiments of the inventive concept, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that certain structural modifications may be made and equivalent elements substituted for those described; and it is, therefore, intended that all such modifications and equivalents be covered as they are embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention.

lclaim:

1. In combination, a tent having, a floor, a sidewall provided with a doorway, and panel means for selectively covering said doorway, the lower edge of said panel means terminating above said floor; and a threshold assembly comprising a drop cloth in front of said sidewall of said tent integral with said floor along its lower edge to provide a hinge line, said drop cloth defining first and second side edges, gusset means at each side of said drop cloth for sealingly interconnecting said first and second side edges of said drop cloth with said sidewall of said tent while permitting said drop cloth to be selectively positioned in an upright position or lowered about said hinge line to a reclining position on the ground, slide fastener means having an upper and a lower track adapted to be interlocked,

said lower track fastened to and extending along the top of said drop cloth and said upper track fastened to and extending along a portion of the top of said drop cloth adjacent the top of one of said gusset means at the side of said drop cloth and thence adjacent the lower edge of said door panel means, whereby when said upper and lower tracks are interlocked, said drop cloth may be supported by said door panel means; and releasable snap means for interconnecting said drop cloth with said sidewall of said tent for holding said drop cloth in said upright position while permitting said slide fastener to be opened to permit access to said tent through said doorway.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said panel means includes first and second side panels and means for releasably securing said side panels together along a vertical line intermediate the edges of said drop cloth, and wherein said slide fastener means includes first and second zippers, each having an upper tract extending from an upper corner of said drop cloth along the upper edge thereof and thence adjacent to and supported by the lower edge of its associated door panel, and a lower track extending along the upper portion of said drop cloth to a point beneath said vertical line along which said side door panels are secured.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said first and second gusset means comprise a generally triangular gusset member integral with an associated edge of said drop cloth and extending therebehind when said drop cloth is in said upright position, and a panel extension member integral with each of said gusset members extending in the plane of said sidewall of said tent for sealingly interconnecting the same with its associated gusset member.

4. In combination a tent having a floor, a doorway opening, and door panel means for covering said opening, said panel means defining a lower horizontal edge; a threshold construction comprising a generally rectangular from drop cloth extending substantially the width of the doorway opening and attached to said tent floor along a hinge line about which said drop cloth panel may be raised and lowered; a pocket at at least one side of said drop cloth panel extending toward the center of and behind said drop cloth to connect the side edges of said drop cloth to the front wall of said tent adjacent said doorway opening and to the outer portion of the lower edge of said door panel means; continuous fastener means extending substantially the entire length of said drop cloth panel for releasably connecting the upper edge of said drop cloth panel to the lower edge of said door panel and to the upper edge of a portion of said pocket; and snap fastener means for releasably connecting the upper corner of said drop cloth panel adjacent said pocket to the front of said tent adjacent the lower hinging edge of said door panel, whereby when said snap fastener means is engaged, said continuous fastener means may be opened to permit entrance to said tent while holding said drop cloth panel erect and the disengagement of said snap fastener will then permit said drop cloth to be lowered onto the ground about said hinge line.

5. The tent of claim 4 wherein said door panel means includes first and second side panels operable about a vertical center line, and said combination includes a pocket at each side of said drop cloth panel, wherein said continuous fastener means includes first and second slide fasteners each extending from one upper corner of said drop cloth panel to the center thereof adjacent the lower edge of the vertical center line from which said door panels open.

6. In combination, a tent having a floor and a first sidewall provided with a doorway and door panel means for selectively covering said doorway, the lower edge of said panel means terminating above said floor; a base of flexible, waterproof material having a bottom and four upstanding sidewall portions fastened to the sides of said tent, a front sidewall of said base attached to said first tent sidewall including a drop cloth in front of said front sidewall portion integral with said bottom of said base along a horizontal hinge line and defining first and second side edges, and gusset means at each side of said drop cloth for sealingly interconnectin saidfirst and second side edges of said drop cloth with said ront sidewall portion of said base while permitting said drop cloth to be selectively positioned in an upright position and a lowered position reclining on the ground; slide fastener means having a first and a second track adapted to be interlocked, one of said tracks fastened to and extending along the top of said drop cloth and the other of said tracks fastened to and extending along a portion of the top of one of said gusset means at the side of said drop cloth and thence along the lower edge of said panel means; and releasable snap means for interconnecting the upper corners of said drop leaf when said front sidewall portion of said base, whereby said drop panel may be opened and said drop cloth will remain upright as long as said snap fasteners are engaged. 

1. In combination, a tent having, a floor, a sidewall provided with a doorway, and panel means for selectively covering said doorway, the lower edge of said panel means terminating above said floor; and a threshold assembly comprising a drop cloth in front of said sidewall of said tent integral with said floor along its lower edge to provide a hinge line, said drop cloth defining first and second side edges, gusset means at each side of said drop cloth for sealingly interconnecting said first and second side edges of said drop cloth with said sidewall of said tent while permitting said drop cloth to be selectively positioned in an upright position or lowered about said hinge line to a reclining position on the ground, slide fastener means having an upper and a lower track adapted to be interlocked, said lower track fastened to and extending along the top of said drop cloth and said upper track fastened to and extending along a portion of the top of said drop cloth adjacent the top of one of said gusset means at the side of said drop cloth and thence adjacent the lower edge of said door panel means, whereby when said upper and lower tracks are interlocked, said drop cloth may be supported by said door panel means; and releasable snap means for interconnecting said drop cloth with said sidewall of said tent for holding said drop cloth in said upright position while permitting said slide fastener to be opened to permit access to said tent through said doorway.
 2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said panel means includes first and second side panels and means for releasably securing said side panels together along a vertical line intermediate the edges of said drop cloth, and wherein said slide fastener means includes first and second zippers, each having an upper tract extending from an upper corner of said drop cloth along the upper edge thereof and thence adjacent to and supported by the lower edge of its associated door panel, and a lower track extending along the upper portion of said drop cloth to a point beneath said vertical line along which said side door panels are secured.
 3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said first and second gusset means comprise a generally triangular gusset member integral with an associated edge of said drop cloth and extending therebehind when said drop cloth is in said upright position, and a panel extension member integral with each of said gusset members extending in the plane of said sidewall of said tent for sealingly interconnecting the same with its associated gusset member.
 4. In combination a tent having a floor, a doorway opening, and door panel means for covering said opening, said panel means defining a lower horizontal edge; a threshold construction comprising a generally rectangular front drop cloth extending substantially the width of the doorway opening and attached to said tent floor along a hinge line about which said drop cloth panel may be raised and lowered; a pocket at at least one side of said drop cloth panel extending toward the center Of and behind said drop cloth to connect the side edges of said drop cloth to the front wall of said tent adjacent said doorway opening and to the outer portion of the lower edge of said door panel means; continuous fastener means extending substantially the entire length of said drop cloth panel for releasably connecting the upper edge of said drop cloth panel to the lower edge of said door panel and to the upper edge of a portion of said pocket; and snap fastener means for releasably connecting the upper corner of said drop cloth panel adjacent said pocket to the front of said tent adjacent the lower hinging edge of said door panel, whereby when said snap fastener means is engaged, said continuous fastener means may be opened to permit entrance to said tent while holding said drop cloth panel erect and the disengagement of said snap fastener will then permit said drop cloth to be lowered onto the ground about said hinge line.
 5. The tent of claim 4 wherein said door panel means includes first and second side panels operable about a vertical center line, and said combination includes a pocket at each side of said drop cloth panel, wherein said continuous fastener means includes first and second slide fasteners each extending from one upper corner of said drop cloth panel to the center thereof adjacent the lower edge of the vertical center line from which said door panels open.
 6. In combination, a tent having a floor and a first sidewall provided with a doorway and door panel means for selectively covering said doorway, the lower edge of said panel means terminating above said floor; a base of flexible, waterproof material having a bottom and four upstanding sidewall portions fastened to the sides of said tent, a front sidewall of said base attached to said first tent sidewall including a drop cloth in front of said front sidewall portion integral with said bottom of said base along a horizontal hinge line and defining first and second side edges, and gusset means at each side of said drop cloth for sealingly interconnecting said first and second side edges of said drop cloth with said front sidewall portion of said base while permitting said drop cloth to be selectively positioned in an upright position and a lowered position reclining on the ground; slide fastener means having a first and a second track adapted to be interlocked, one of said tracks fastened to and extending along the top of said drop cloth and the other of said tracks fastened to and extending along a portion of the top of one of said gusset means at the side of said drop cloth and thence along the lower edge of said panel means; and releasable snap means for interconnecting the upper corners of said drop leaf when said front sidewall portion of said base, whereby said drop panel may be opened and said drop cloth will remain upright as long as said snap fasteners are engaged. 